Background: Neonatal jaundice (NNJ) is a preventable cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Improving mothers' knowledge will help with early recognition of NNJ, prompt and appropriate intervention. This study highlights the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding neonatal jaundice among expectant mothers attending the antenatal clinics of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Mamprobi Polyclinic in Accra. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 175 expectant mothers. Interviewer based questionnaire was used to obtain data on knowledge, attitude and practice concerning NNJ. The study was conducted between 1 st and 17 th November 2013 at two antenatal clinics in Accra. Results: Out of the 175 respondents, 135 (77.1%) had heard about NNJ but only 37 (27.4%) of them heard it from the hospital. Among those who had heard about NNJ, 98 (72.6%) knew at least one symptom of NNJ; 125 (92.6%) did not know the causes of jaundice or had the wrong information and there was no significant association with their level of education (X 2 =6.757, p=0.15). Only 7(5.2%) knew one or more correct forms of treatment of NNJ; 67(49.6%) knew one or more danger signs and 86(63.5%) knew one or more complications. Conclusion: Majority of expectant mothers attending antenatal clinics at a Teaching Hospital and a Polyclinic in Accra, Ghana are aware of NNJ but have poor knowledge about the causes, danger signs and treatment of NNJ, irrespective of their level of education or their parity.

Background Polyparasitic infection is a possibility in areas where parasites are endemic, especially among children. This study looked at the prevalence of polyparasitic infections among children in the Volta Region of Ghana. Methods This was a cross-sectional study, among 550 primary school children (aged 6–14 years) in 3 districts in the Volta Region. Questionnaires were administered, and blood, stool, and urine samples were collected. Blood samples were screened for Plasmodium falciparum with rapid diagnostic test and microscopy, together with hemoglobin estimation. Stool and urine samples were microscopically examined using wet mount and sedimentation methods to detect intestinal parasites and Schistosoma haematobium, respectively. Pearson χ 2 test was used to evaluate the association between parasitic infections and socioeconomic variables, and multivariate logistic regression to evaluate paired associations among parasites. Results The most prominent infection among the children was P. falciparum (present in 383 children [69.6%]), followed by S. haematobium (57 [10.36%]). There was low prevalence of intestinal protozoa (present in 11 children [2%]), Ascaris lumbricoides (7 [1.27%]), and hookworm (5 [0.91%]). A total of 62 children had polyparasitic infection, with P. falciparum and S. haematobium having significant paired association (both present in 46 children [74.19%]; adjusted odds ratio, 2.45; P = .007). Conclusion The prevalence of polyparasitic infection was low in this study, and significant coinfection was seen with P. falciparum and S. haematobium .

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Background Early diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD) through newborn screening (NBS) is a cost‐effective intervention, which reduces morbidity and mortality. In sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) where disease burden is greatest, there are no universal NBS programs and few institutions have the capacity to conduct NBS. We determined the feasibility and challenges of implementing NBS for SCD in Ghana's largest public hospital. Procedure The SCD NBS program at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is a multiyear partnership between the hospital and the SickKids Center for Global Child Health, Toronto, being implemented in phases. The 13‐month demonstration phase (June 2017–July 2018) and phase one (November 2018–December 2019) focused on staff training and the feasibility of universal screening of babies born in KBTH. Results During the demonstration phase, 115 public health nurses and midwives acquired competency in heel stick for dried blood spot sampling. Out of 9990 newborns, 4427 babies (44.3%) were screened, of which 79 (1.8%) were identified with presumptive SCD (P‐SCD). Major challenges identified included inadequate nursing staff to perform screening, shortage of screening supplies, and delays in receiving screening results. Strategies to overcome some of the challenges were incorporated into phase one, resulting in increased screening coverage to 83.7%. Conclusions Implementing NBS for SCD in KBTH presented challenges with implications on achieving and sustaining universal NBS in KBTH and other settings in SSA. Specific steps addressing these challenges comprehensively will help build on the modest initial gains, moving closer toward a sustainable national NBS program.

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Objectives: Current study sought to determine an association between Low Birth Weight (LBW) and early neonatal mortality at a resource limited country's referral hospital and to determine relationship between maternal age and birth outcomes. Method: A retrospective study analyzing data on births in the Volta Regional Hospital, Ghana from the period of November 2011 to June 2016. A total of 8279 births were analyzed. Results: Results suggest that teenage mothers (8.60%) are more likely to give birth to pre-term babies than the elderly (6.60%) and the adult mothers (4.61%). LBW is highest among the teenage mothers (12.69%) followed by the elderly mothers (7.87%) and then the least among the adult mothers (6.48%). Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) and Macrosomia births were more observed among the elderly mothers (0.90%; 2.17%) than the teenage (0.28%; 0.14%) and adult mothers (0.34%; 1.61%) respectively. Data suggest that 100% of the ELBW were pre-term birth, 88.28% Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW), 34.56% LBW and only 1.06% of the pre-term birth were with Normal Birth Weight (NBW). Death rate ranges from 50% for ELBW, 33.59% for VLBW, 8.22% for LBW, 5.43% for Macrosomia and 1.5% for NBW. However, death rate distribution among the various age groups was statistically not significant (P < 0.106). Conclusions: Our study suggests that early neonatal death, especially deaths among ELBW and VLBW is still high at the VRH of Ghana and therefore there is the need for further studies into interventions to reduce death among neonates born with VLBW and ELBW.

Background Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a progressive inflammatory liver disease of unknown aetiology. The number of reported AIH cases is increasing in the developed countries but the same cannot be said about sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Paediatric AIH diagnosis is usually missed and patients present with decompensated liver disease. Our study highlights the clinical profile of paediatric AIH cases at a referral hospital in Ghana. Methods This is a retrospective review of all cases of children diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the gastroenterology clinic in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Data was extracted from the patients’ records from April 2016 to October 2019. These children were diagnosed based on the presence of autoantibodies, elevated immunoglobulin G and histologic presence of interphase hepatitis with the exclusion of hepatitis A, B, C and E depending on their clinical presentation, Wilson’s disease, HIV, Schistosomiasis and sickle cell disease. Results Thirteen patients aged between 5 years to 13 years with a mean age of 10 years were diagnosed with AIH. All the patients had type 1 AIH with majority 8 (61.5%) being females. Most of the children presented with advanced liver disease with complications. Three patients had other associated autoimmune diseases. The patients were treated with prednisolone with or without azathioprine depending on the severity of the liver disease. Conclusion Majority of paediatric AIH presents with advanced liver disease. There is the need for early detection to change the natural history of AIH in SSA.

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a global health problem that mainly affects low-and middle-income countries. We have previously shown that early neonatal mortality is high at the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) of Ghana. We sought to determine the prevalence of neonatal sepsis, sepsis-related mortality, and bacterial species patterns in neonatal and young infant sepsis in this hospital. Methods: A hospital-based study was conducted in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from March to June 2018. Blood samples from 96 babies clinically diagnosed with or at risk of sepsis were cultured using the BACTEC 9050® machine. Clinical data including gravida, parity and antibiotic medication before delivery of mother and delivery type, gestation, birth weight and antibiotic medication status were collected for analysis. MALDI-TOF MS identified bacterial isolates, and their identities were confirmed via tuf gene sequence typing. The data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 8.0.2. Results: Blood cultures were positive in 28 of the babies, with 14 and 12 representing early-onset and late-onset neonatal sepsis, respectively, and two cases of unknown sepsis type. Of the bacterial species that caused sepsis in the babies, coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS) was the most prevalent isolate in 22 cases, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae in two and Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, the Acinetobacter species,